About my Books

I have been imagining stories … since I remember. I wrote my first “book” when I was nine. It was a set of very short stories that included also basic math calculation training for kids of my age. I recall the first story featured Red Riding Hood who tamed the wolf and the family kept it as a guardian.
The math exercises looked like this: “The little girl was 5+2= years old” or “She carried 2×3= apples for her grandma.”
Naturally, I also illustrated the stories. My parents still have that notebook somewhere …

Since then, I have written many short stories. Won some small local competitions. And I keep working on novels since 2016. I have been rewriting the chapters, deleting pages and pages of bad writing, watching videos about writing theory, paid for workshops … my first book (book one of The Ivy Crown trilogy) was the hardest. But it keeps getting easier. I no longer need to erase hours of hard work. I am happy with the book after draft 2 and draft 3 is just about the smallest adjustments.

During the years, I have found great writing buddies and critique partnes. I have worked with professional editors. I cringe when I look at my writing seven years back. But I feel confident when reading the stuff I wrote three or two years ago. My critique partnes are happy, my editor charges me less and less for the work. And that means only one thing.

Guys, it is time. I keep writing for years. It is time to publish.

Withered Petals

Eleven-year-old Valerie doesn’t understand why her daddy doesn’t love her anymore.  Why do they have to move? Divorce … lover … sour words. Or is her mom lying again when she takes Valerie and Tobias, her teenage brother, from the city? The always cold and crumbling house is supposed to be their home. Luckily, new adventures and friendly faces keep her thoughts away from her sorrows. 

But … the picturesque village and its kind inhabitants guard a sinister past. How did Valerie’s house turn from a flourishing Jewish home into this ruin? And the older generation remains resolute in their silence about World War II. They did nothing wrong. Let the past rest undisturbed.

But the echoes of the war grow louder as the old house gets colder and colder. And the cold creeps and hunts …

Preparing:

The Ivy Crown trilogy

Set in a fantasy world heavily based on European 19th century. Yep, steaming trains polluting the land, emergence of electricity, insanely hard working class coditions … Minor influences and inspirations come from Asian history and culture. Mainly meditation practice, and Eastern philosophy elements.

And where is the fantasy part, you ask? There are many bloodsucking vampires. Not in an undead form. In my fictional world, they are part of the humankind and are naturally born from humans. But their health fails without blood. And they have powerful supernatural mind abilities. They can soothe and heal others with their mind touch. Or make the other brain turn into a bloody mush. Just don’t look into their eyes and you will be fine.

Book 1: Uprooting Weeds

A once-flourishing kingdom faces a crisis. The corrupted leaders of the cities hoard fortunes and trade in drugs. Illegal slavery rises. The threat of famine and civil war looms on the horizon. The desperate new queen sees no other option to gain control than to answer with violence.

She calls upon the still loyal army, the few dutiful cities, and redoubtable vampire investigators capable of entering the minds of their victims and uncovering their crimes. The guilty are tortured and executed. The cities are rebuilt, the economy is restored, and the armies march forward. A flickering hope for a new era of prosperity begins to burn.

And yet, despite the promise of an end to poverty, public opinion is swayed by these cruel practices, providing fertile ground for new traitors to emerge.

As Daniel Vorthkor, an exhausted and frustrated investigator, tries to muster the strength to complete this gruesome task, he stumbles upon Sarah Nightingale, a young woman desperate to escape her crumbling home, hungry for education and success. To ease his own burden and fulfill his duty to pass on his knowledge, Daniel takes her as his apprentice. While they grapple with the new situation and and their personalities clash, a hidden resistance movement, with the support of a neighboring republic, is poised to execute a plan to overthrow the monarch.

Spies and assassins are on the move. Just as a friendship begins to blossom between the master and the apprentice, their lives and the fate of the entire kingdom are in peril.

Book 2: The Cracking Crown

Book 3: No name yet. I have three candidates so far.

This book exists in a form of notes about the plot, a mess of interesting scientific, nature, psychology, and history facts I might find useful, notes from hundreds of discussions with critique partners …

Teddy Bear

A contemporary drama about loss and grief. And acceptance. And maybe healing and a happy ending? Some people (and characters) never heal and do not have the happy ending. This book exists in a form of notes, character profiles, and a brief plot outline. Not much to tell you now, sadly. The story starts from a moment a wife comes home from a funeral of her dead husband. He took his own life. Is there anyone to blame? Let’s find out together.